Koei Tecmo announced today thatFatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipseis receiving a re-release in the West and is set to arrive in early 2023. The fourth entry in theFatal Frameseries was previously exclusive to Japan and only on Wii consoles, making today’s announcement a big one for fans in North America and Europe.
In October of last year,Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, the fifth entry in the series, received a port for all consoles and PC after being tethered to the Wii U since its original 2014 launch. However,Mask of the Lunar Eclipsewas still missing in the West, a Japanese exclusive on the Wii since its release in 2008. As a whole, theFatal Frameserieshas always struggled with its Western localizations, leading to long wait periods between the Japanese release and the Western release and, in the case ofMask of the Lunar Eclipse, the Western localization being canceled altogether.
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Fans of the game no longer have to seek out fan translations thanks to Koei Tecmo announcing an official port forMask of the LunarEclipse, meaning thatevery mainlineFatal Framegamehas received a Western localization. Fans should also note that a few new features are coming to this re-release. Koei Tecmo states thatMask of the Lunar Eclipsenow comes with a Photo Mode, new and altered costumes, and has been graphically reworked with better shadows, lighting, in-game cinematics, and improved character models. A firm release date has not been given for the game yet, but fans can expect to playFatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipseon PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, and the Xbox family of consoles in early 2023.
Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipseis considered one of the stronger games in the series, receiving scores in the 70s and 80s from outlets like Eurogamer and Nintendo Life. Many cite the atmosphere and gameplay as the game’s best attributes while docking points for its clunky control scheme. Given howMask of the Lunar Eclipsewill be updatedto work with modern controllers and break away from the limitations of the Wii, there’s likely room to fix those criticisms.
Koei Tecmo has been on a spree of porting a lot of the company’s back catalog of games. Along withFatal Frame: Maiden of Black Waterlast year andMask of the Lunar Eclipsenext year, Koei Tecmo has alsoported over its popularNinja Gaidenseriesof games to new consoles, once locked to sixth and seventh-generation hardware. Many of these ports have received praise for their modern updates and preservation of the original experience, have it be a good or bad one. Regardless of the quality of the original experience, unshackling old games from old hardware and region locks is a big win for accessibility.
Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipselaunches in early 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X|S.
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